on the floor. “What is happening?” she asked Navarro and Archer.
“Warm-up for bull-riding,” Navarro said with a grin. He tipped his hat. “I’m Navarro Jefferson.”
“I’m Archer Jefferson.”
“I’m Cissy Kisserton,” she said, and they both eagerly shook her hand. “Does Tex always warm up like that?”
“Oh, yes,” Archer assured her. “Gotta loosen up the joints, stretch the muscles. You know. It’s why Tex is so good at what he does. He insists upon this routine before every ride.”
Tex let out a particularly loud yell and a potent curse. Cissy gasped.
Navarro said, “Time,” and Archer called, “Oh, Tex, Cissy’s here with a basket of chocolate chipcookies for you,” and Tex leaped to his feet as if he’d been shot out of a cannon.
Last rolled over and eyed Cissy, slowly getting to his feet. “Howdy, ma’am,” he said politely, his tone that which one uses for royalty. “I’m Last Jefferson. I do not believe we’ve met, but may I say that what I’ve heard about you pales when compared to meeting you face-to-face.”
“That’s so sweet,” Cissy said, charmed. “How kind of you.”
The three other Jefferson brothers groaned.
“Tex,” she said, “here’s some cookies I baked for you.”
He puffed up instantly. Let Last see that he was capable of intimate acquaintance with a woman! “My favorite. Thank you, sugar.”
And then he kissed her on the lips. Lightly. As if he did it all the time.
She glared at him.
He blinked at her fast, trying to signal an SOS.
“Tex Jefferson, if these were fortune cookies, they’d say ‘If you ever do that again, you won’t have a bright future,”’ she whispered. “Or any future. Or parts of your body left to ride with. Get the picture?”
“Hey, you save me, I save you.”
“When did we make that deal?” she demanded. “Isn’t there an expiration on implicit deal-making?”
“I don’t know! Work with me, okay?”
He took her silence as stiff acquiescence. “Now, you run along,” he told her. “A barn’s no place for a pretty girl like you.”
His three brothers groaned, and Cissy squashed histoe with her shoe as she walked by. He saw stars but still managed to watch her walk out of the barn. Swish, sway, moving like magic. Fact was, he’d rather she stayed, but with these brothers of his around, he wouldn’t be able to relax, and then he’d make a huge mess of everything. He could feel them weighing his every move, assessing his manliness and aptitude with the ladies. It was all he could do to act normal, when he felt so many puzzling things about Cissy.
“Hey, smooth operator,” Navarro said, “share some of those cookies with us.”
Tex snatched the basket away. “No dice. Y’all are getting on my nerves. Especially you,” he said to Last. Last stared at him silently. His youngest brother had straw sticking out of his hair, and Tex figured he didn’t look much better. It was just his luck that Cissy would walk in when he was rolling around on the ground. “In fact, if y’all can’t be helpful, why don’t you get the hell out of here. I’m not liking you very much at the moment.”
Silently, they filed out. Tex set down the basket he’d been protecting and looked at Cissy’s handiwork.
It was the most thoughtful thing a woman had ever done for him, right up until she’d squashed his toe and threatened his manhood.
Which he richly deserved.
He didn’t act like himself around Cissy, and it was worse with his brothers around. There was no relaxation. His brain was on full buzz the instant he saw her, heard her, smelled her.
And yet, he couldn’t seem to do anything to rev down his senses.
Maybe Last was right, the little turd.
It was too horrible to contemplate.
And then he realized something. Cissy had known he was riding for Delilah tonight or she wouldn’t have brought the cookies. She hadn’t seemed surprised at all when his brothers talked about warming up. Stretching. What
“Warm-up for bull-riding,” Navarro said with a grin. He tipped his hat. “I’m Navarro Jefferson.”
“I’m Archer Jefferson.”
“I’m Cissy Kisserton,” she said, and they both eagerly shook her hand. “Does Tex always warm up like that?”
“Oh, yes,” Archer assured her. “Gotta loosen up the joints, stretch the muscles. You know. It’s why Tex is so good at what he does. He insists upon this routine before every ride.”
Tex let out a particularly loud yell and a potent curse. Cissy gasped.
Navarro said, “Time,” and Archer called, “Oh, Tex, Cissy’s here with a basket of chocolate chipcookies for you,” and Tex leaped to his feet as if he’d been shot out of a cannon.
Last rolled over and eyed Cissy, slowly getting to his feet. “Howdy, ma’am,” he said politely, his tone that which one uses for royalty. “I’m Last Jefferson. I do not believe we’ve met, but may I say that what I’ve heard about you pales when compared to meeting you face-to-face.”
“That’s so sweet,” Cissy said, charmed. “How kind of you.”
The three other Jefferson brothers groaned.
“Tex,” she said, “here’s some cookies I baked for you.”
He puffed up instantly. Let Last see that he was capable of intimate acquaintance with a woman! “My favorite. Thank you, sugar.”
And then he kissed her on the lips. Lightly. As if he did it all the time.
She glared at him.
He blinked at her fast, trying to signal an SOS.
“Tex Jefferson, if these were fortune cookies, they’d say ‘If you ever do that again, you won’t have a bright future,”’ she whispered. “Or any future. Or parts of your body left to ride with. Get the picture?”
“Hey, you save me, I save you.”
“When did we make that deal?” she demanded. “Isn’t there an expiration on implicit deal-making?”
“I don’t know! Work with me, okay?”
He took her silence as stiff acquiescence. “Now, you run along,” he told her. “A barn’s no place for a pretty girl like you.”
His three brothers groaned, and Cissy squashed histoe with her shoe as she walked by. He saw stars but still managed to watch her walk out of the barn. Swish, sway, moving like magic. Fact was, he’d rather she stayed, but with these brothers of his around, he wouldn’t be able to relax, and then he’d make a huge mess of everything. He could feel them weighing his every move, assessing his manliness and aptitude with the ladies. It was all he could do to act normal, when he felt so many puzzling things about Cissy.
“Hey, smooth operator,” Navarro said, “share some of those cookies with us.”
Tex snatched the basket away. “No dice. Y’all are getting on my nerves. Especially you,” he said to Last. Last stared at him silently. His youngest brother had straw sticking out of his hair, and Tex figured he didn’t look much better. It was just his luck that Cissy would walk in when he was rolling around on the ground. “In fact, if y’all can’t be helpful, why don’t you get the hell out of here. I’m not liking you very much at the moment.”
Silently, they filed out. Tex set down the basket he’d been protecting and looked at Cissy’s handiwork.
It was the most thoughtful thing a woman had ever done for him, right up until she’d squashed his toe and threatened his manhood.
Which he richly deserved.
He didn’t act like himself around Cissy, and it was worse with his brothers around. There was no relaxation. His brain was on full buzz the instant he saw her, heard her, smelled her.
And yet, he couldn’t seem to do anything to rev down his senses.
Maybe Last was right, the little turd.
It was too horrible to contemplate.
And then he realized something. Cissy had known he was riding for Delilah tonight or she wouldn’t have brought the cookies. She hadn’t seemed surprised at all when his brothers talked about warming up. Stretching. What
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